Like this girl soon would.
Eleven. It's over. Good-bye.
Easily dodging a blow that would cause a concussion just grazing
anyone else, No Death bade the dark elf farewell.
This girl had been sinister in a way that defied words, but now that she'd
won, she had to admit—the kid was cute. She was too young to really know
much of anything. The sin lay not with her but with the parents who'd
raised her.
She deflected the staff, ignored a chance to strike—and was faced with
an enigma.
The girl wasn't dead.
...Huh?
For a moment, No Death's mind went blank.
That move meant certain death and yet, she hadn't died. She must've
counted the time wrong. That was the most logical answer.
Outside of training, she'd never fought anyone this strong. She didn't
think she was stressing it, but she must have been. In that state, it was
difficult to gauge time accurately. She was just a little off.
…Two more.
She gave it two more seconds, nice long ones.
But the girl didn't die.
She still wasn't dead.
The girl was making energetic little noises, "Hyah!" or "Hoo!" that were
totally at odds with her terrifying attacks.
"H-how?!"
It was unfathomable.
That move killed everything. Even the undead, who were already dead.
Even golems who had no life at all. No Death herself could not comprehend
the move's power, so how had this girl survived?
The girl's attacks were hurting, so she was no illusion. What else could
she be? Did that move just not work on dark elves? Or her bloodline? Or—
had the spell she cast thwarted it?
In which case, how had she known what the move did? Even No Death
had access to it only through her talent and didn't know everything about it.
Nor did the handful of Theocracy people who knew she could use it. If
anyone did know the full details, that would be Sulshana—the scythe's true
owner.
Was that god backing this girl? Given the girl's apparent immortality,
that felt weirdly convincing. But then—
" Unh!"
Confusion and panic had made her stiffen up, and a blow she could have
dodged landed cleanly.
"Argh!"
No Death swung through the pain. A desperate flail that sank into the
girl's flesh and before she could tell if it had done anything, that staff
pummeled her. The pain left her seeing stars, and her body tipped—but
before it toppled over, she got her legs under her.
Her mind was in overdrive.
Her plan had gone awry.
What now?
What was her best option?
She'd taken a beating but still had strength left. She wasn't done for yet.
But given her foe's potential reinforcements, it was time to pick fight or
flight.
But if she tried flight, was she even fast enough to get away? She
couldn't say for sure. In which case—
I've gotta use my other ace?
Not the worst idea. But No Death was still hesitant. She'd just watched
her other ace get thwarted like it was nothing.
It was hard to imagine this one would be, too. But—did this girl have
some crazy move that could cancel it out?
How many scrolls does she have? How many spells does she know?
I don't have anything like enough information!
And when you didn't have a clue what your opponent could do, it was
tough to be sure it was worth playing your own card. But like she kept
saying—time was against No Death but helped this girl.
She could push through it, but the pain from these staff hits was
definitely making it harder to think.
No Death's grin grew broader.
The smile hid her emotions, her thoughts, her feelings from everyone—
especially her enemies.
That's why she grinned. She had made her choice.
No more thinking! I don't know enough for thinking to matter!
All she really knew was that she'd showed off one ace and let this girl
know whatever countermeasure she'd used was effective against it. That
fact alone was a far greater loss than the total damage No Death had taken.
She used her last ace ability, and a burst of white light formed—another
No Death.
No Death had two ultimate moves.
The first left no life behind—slightly more accurately, her talent allowed
her access to the move that slept in this weapon, the ace of its former owner.
Her second ultimate came from her class—Lesser Walküre/Almighty.
This created a copy of her.
Einherjar.
Its combat performance was no match for the real No Death, but it was
based on her strengths—so the copy still possessed overwhelming power.
The girl's eyes went wide, and she made another shocked noise. It was
just like the last time, which No Death felt didn't bode well.
Before No Death even had a chance to send a mental directive to her
Einherjar, the girl pulled out an orb.
An instant later, she'd summoned a giant that barely fit because of the
hallway. It was an earth elemental.
Utterly baffling.
She'd figured there was a solid chance this girl was a druid. So
summoning an elemental made sense—but she'd used an item, not a spell.
All for an elemental—one that didn't really seem that powerful.
Can't summon elementals, can't use attack spells…a druid who can only
buff herself? Or am I just overlooking something, jumping to the wrong
conclusion? I heard the elf king used a giant earth elemental, but is this it?
But…this isn't…all that big…
What she'd heard about the elf king's elemental made it sound
overwhelming, so powerful that even the exceptional stood no chance
against it.
That suggested this was a different kind. But it might seem unimpressive
only compared to No Death's own strengths; to anyone weaker, it would
probably be more than big enough.
Still, this elemental posed no threat to her.
She could leave it to the Einherjar and focus on the girl. It should finish
off the elemental soon enough, and then it would be two-on-one.
No, we should team up and eliminate this elemental together.
"C'mon!"
No Death charged in, her scythe striking the elemental. The Einherjar
matched her.
Earth elementals resisted physical attacks, but their advantage was a
steep one. They easily cut deep into that tough hide. But sturdiness was this
foe's calling card; a couple of hits would hardly be fatal.
But the earth elemental vanished.
" Ha?"
She was so lost. She definitely hadn't defeated it—
Because an instant later, there was an earth elemental right in front of
her. This one was even bigger.
What was going on here?
This couldn't be the same one.
"A sacrificial summon?"
She'd never heard of any skills or spells that worked like that. But the
name itself fit the circumstances so well, it popped right out of her mouth.
This new—if that was the right word—earth elemental was clearly
stronger than the last. Even the exceptional few would not stand a chance.
Still—
I can beat it. But…is that the right choice?
If she damaged or defeated it, would it just be replaced with one even
stronger?
She found that hard to believe but couldn't entirely rule out the
possibility.
No Death put the Einherjar on standby while she took a good look at the
girl.
She was just fidgeting around behind the elemental, watching her. It
didn't seem like she'd order the earth elemental to attack.
Who the hell is this girl? If she was undead, I could safely assume the
King of Darkness made her, but if she's just a regular dark elf… How would
you go about keeping a kid this strong secret? With her power, you'd think
word would get around. Or did the country keep her hidden, like mine did
me?
The Nation of Darkness had been founded a few years prior.
The Empire had trumpeted the notion that those lands had originally
belonged to the Nation, but the Theocracy had been around long enough to
know that was a bald-faced lie.
The Nation and its king had not previously existed.
If the King of Darkness did appear out of nowhere, then he might be the
same thing as the gods of yore—but that's not confirmed. It's hard…to
believe…but what if…this girl is the same? No, her eyes bear the mark of
royalty; it's more likely she's related to the elf king. Maybe the King of
Darkness got his hands on this girl somehow and that's what inspired him
to come here and found a multiracial nation?
She didn't know. There was no proof of anything. Even the connection
between this girl and the King of Darkness was pure speculation.
But that would be the worst-case scenario, and she should be prepared
for it.
If this girl really is from the Nation, then they've got at least two on my
level, her and the king himself. Shit, is he here, too?
That brought a hint of panic.
How dumb was she? Assuming this girl was from the Nation, then that
had always been in the cards.
Anywhere else, the very idea would be absurd.
No other king would waltz into the middle of a war between two other
countries; it wasn't worth the risk. But the King of Darkness had popped up
in the Sacred Kingdom and thrown his weight around. Proving to the rest of
the world that a caster capable of wiping out entire armies might just show
up anywhere.
There were also hard-to-believe reports that he'd shown up in the arena
in the Empire before they became a vassal state.
No Death was cursing herself now.
If she was right about this and the King of Darkness was here in person,
what could be worse? This girl alone was bad enough, but if that undead
showed up, No Death was doomed. The Theocracy hadn't exactly fully
analyzed the undead king's combat potential, but they knew he'd wiped out
an army over ten thousand strong, so it was hard to believe he was weaker
than this girl.
Right now, I'm just piling speculation on speculation, but…it adds up. It
does. I dunno why they're here, but…if the king does show up, do I
negotiate?
If he could steal the elf king's elemental, then he could steal the country.
The girl bore proof of the king's blood—there in her eyes.
With proof of royal blood and the king's earth elemental in her
command, the elves would likely bow to her.
And if he drives us off, he'll earn accolades. Flawless timing.
Flawless…timing?
A new wave of panic swept over her.
The Nation of Darkness was invading the Re-Estize Kingdom, hell-bent
on wiping it out. That's why the Theocracy rushed to end our war with the
elves. But what if that was actually the Nation's true goal all along?
It was like the sides of a rubik q suddenly aligned. No Death had
experienced no fear, no matter the fight she was in, but now it felt like her
core had turned to ice, and her whole body shivered. If this was the Nation's
scheme from the very beginning, it all made sense.
The Re-Estize Kingdom was never their primary purpose. Their goal
was to put the elves under their domain and strike back at the Theocracy. In
which case…the defeat at E-Naeurl exposed their invasion. Was that done
not to strike fear in the hearts of the kingdom's people but timed to spur the
Theocracy into action? Or maybe both?! Does he plan to put us all under
his power in rapid succession? That can't be true! It's not possible we've
been dancing to the Nation's tune all along! That's absurd!
She was loath to admit it, but like a moment before—she had to account
for the worst.
The supreme executive agency had said the King of Darkness deserved
the utmost caution. As uncanny as his schemes were, it was his raw power
that posed the greatest threat.
And yet—
Yes and yet—if this was the king's own scheme, then spells that slew ten
thousand soldiers in the blink of an eye were not nearly as frightening. Nor
were the powerful minions that could massacre a kingdom nine million
strong. His true horror lay in the mind that could see a hundred moves
ahead and tug at invisible strings that let him control even his adversaries.
A formidable threat in his own right and a strategic mastermind—how
could you fight that? That crushed the one weapon the weak had against the
strong.
...Or are the plots the work of that demon prime minister Albedo?
Either way… No, wait… What if it's not just these two countries but the
Theocracy, too? Come here, wipe out these troops, then declare war?
True, there were people out there who could insist it didn't matter how
many weak soldiers were slain. Those in the realm of heroes had power the
equivalent of ten thousand average infantry. Such thoughts might seem
rational to the powerful—but what about your average citizen?
The Theocracy had made human supremacy their motto and galvanized
the country around it. The flip side of that idea was that unless weak
humans came together to act first against the other races, they risked being
wiped out themselves. Just as the Dragon Kingdom was threatened by the
beastmen.
But even if they knew an overwhelmingly powerful foe wanted to wipe
them out, did the masses have the fortitude to endure two back-to-back
wars? Especially if they heard their armies had been massacred without
toppling their old enemies in the elf kingdom?
No Death's lips curled in her usual smile—the one she used to hide her
true feelings.
No joy here, no humor to be found—quite the opposite.
This smile was born from despair. At the scheme woven round, at the
trap they'd stepped right into.
What do I do? Try and urge the soldiers to flee? Or run so that I might
live?
She was the Theocracy's strongest fighter, and her death would be a
terrible blow. Running was probably wise.
No Death was too busy trying to figure out her best option to do much of
anything else, and the girl must have read something into that.
"Er, um, you know?" she said. "Like I said, you can surrender. I-it's not
too late! I'd rather not kill you."
That would let her bring back intel on their foes, so it wasn't the worst
idea. But—
" Can't run, I can't run!!"
"Huh?"
The girl looked baffled. As well she would. The girl had asked a
question and—from the girl's perspective—No Death's answer was
unrelated. But in her mind, it made perfect sense.
Yes. This was the only way.
If this was genuinely a Nation ploy, then there was only one way out of
the trap.
Become the cornered beast, tear into this girl, and crush the Nation's
ploy right here.
The loss of a fighter this powerful would undoubtedly disrupt their
plans.
Perhaps a horrible trap awaited them, but this was her chance to break
them free of it. Only she had that opportunity.
Yeah, only I can save my country!
Did she owe them enough to risk her life? That was hard to answer. But
every now and then, she'd met someone she liked. She'd lived long enough
to lose most of them, but they'd loved this country, and that was worth
betting her life on once.
Maybe it'll be the death of me, but I'm gonna go for the kill. Nothing
more, nothing less.
Her mind was made up.
She'd kept retreat in mind. But only because she'd wanted to move with
the confidence that escape was always a viable option—not a narrow escape
at the last second. The other part of it was that so far, she hadn't seriously
wanted this to end in death. Not because she had any hesitation about
killing someone who might be her niece. She wouldn't hesitate to clip arms
and legs, hog-tie, or even kill a child this age if the need arose. But it was
true she'd made her own survival her top priority.
No longer.
If she didn't throw the dice now, when would she?
Tomorrow, things were only going to be worse.
"Go!" she yelled.
The Einherjar obeyed, lunging forward.
She did not need to speak aloud. She could order it around with her
mind alone. Arguably, verbal commands were a mistake, warning her
enemy. No Death knew that. She'd yelled anyway because she wanted to
rouse her spirits and force herself to commit to this path of action.
She had the Einherjar take the elemental while she lunged at the girl.
But the elemental spread its arms, blocking the passage.
Fine, then.
She and her double would team up on this elemental and kill the girl
afterward.
If this elemental had been stolen from the elf king, then defeating it
would rob her of a symbol of royalty. That might at least slow the Nation's
plans.
Two scythes sliced away at the elemental.
Honestly, a bad foe for her—no blood, no critical points to hit.
Higher elementals heavily resisted physical attacks. Even the scythe No
Death wielded could not one-shot them.
Not the sort of foe she wanted to go up against, but she didn't exactly
have time to grumble.
Since the elemental was blocking the hall, the girl's attacks couldn't
reach her. Even if she used one of those scrolls, it would be hard for the
spell to get through. What she had to worry about here was the girl casting
that buff spell on the elemental.
With two of me, I've got the advantage. But nothing's guaranteed. If I
can't get around it, I can't stop her buffing it. Still…
Did the girl not know this would happen?
Something seemed off about it. But she couldn't quite put a finger on
what.
The elemental swung an arm like a brick mountain. She'd have loved to
jump back but couldn't afford the drop in DPS that hit-and-away tactics
would bring. She hooked the incoming arm with her scythe, deflecting it.
The earth elemental's power was prodigious, but it wasn't hard to adjust the
course by applying force along the side. Still, this weapon wasn't built for
deflections; this was purely achievable by the core difference in their
strength.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Einherjar pull off the same
trick.
It was weaker than her, so if it could do that, then this earth elemental
was definitely not all that strong—like she'd thought.
But that didn't make it weak.
A mere hero would likely be unable to dodge it and wind up crushed by
its fists. Whether that proved fatal was another question, but they'd
definitely be badly hurt.
The attack dealt with, No Death glanced past it, one eye on the girl.
Right up against the elemental like this, any glance away was risky, but
missing what the girl did was even worse.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Huh?
The girl had turned her back and was running off.
An adorable little trot but extremely fast.
She'd made a run for it.
" !!"
No Death worked it out.
She hadn't summoned this earth elemental to counter the Einherjar.
She'd just wanted time to escape.
The girl's act had obfuscated it, but she must have been on her last legs.
The girl had never intended to get in a fight to the death. That explained
several of her choices.
Like when No Death had tried to get behind her, and she'd reacted
impulsively—not because she was scared of being surrounded but because
she wanted to keep her escape route open.
Her words and actions spoke to that.
"Shi—"
She had to choose the best of three options right now.
Chase the girl?
Fell this elemental?
Or run herself?
The third would be easy enough.
Outside the summoner's field of view, the elemental could not receive
any situational orders.
If it had been told to stand in this passage and kill anyone who tried to
get through, then if No Death tried to run, it wouldn't give chase. If it was
told to kill the woman in front of it, then even if No Death ran for it, it
would obediently follow after, attacking mindlessly.
But it would simply pursue relentlessly, not smart enough to try and get
ahead of her.
And No Death was faster and nimbler. She'd win that race.
If she turned and ran off at top speed, the earth elemental would be left
grasping in the dark for her.
But that was unacceptable. She had to reject the idea.
She could not afford to take her eyes off the greater potential threat—the
Nation of Darkness's plan.
So what about options one and two?
Following the girl was easier said than done. Even if they got this wall
out of the way quickly, at the speed that girl was going, catching up would
require a lot of luck. And she was likely headed straight for her
reinforcements. The outcome of that fight was anyone's guess.
In which case, option two might be best.
This threw her earlier commitment into the wind, and if this wasn't the
same elemental the elf king commanded, it would be a complete waste of
time.
But given the risk and reward involved, it was her only real option.
The fish that got away was always bigger, but she had to be satisfied
with what she'd caught.
No Death fixed her glare on the earth elemental—and, down the hall,
saw the girl swing round to face them.
One last one-liner? She watched, keeping her eyes on the elemental—
and the girl's lips moved.
"Good, I saved enough mana."
At this distance, she should never have heard it, but she had elf blood in
her veins and high stats overall—she wasn't sure if that helped, but she
caught the hint of relief in the girl's voice. But before she worked out what
it meant, the girl raised the staff high.
Mare had mastered the disciple of disaster class, earning its ace move.
A weaker version of the world disaster's ultimate move.
Its name: Micro-catastrophe.
It required a vast reserve of mana, but the raw destructive force
outperformed Ainz's super-tier spells. Naturally, this paled in comparison to
the Macro-catastrophe. But the resulting pure energy blast blew away
everything around and was more than strong enough.
In that instant, No Death was hit by a tremendous impact.
Shit, I'm dead, her instincts cried.
The raging force vaporized the elemental.
At last, she got it. The elemental was neither there to fight the Einherjar
nor to allow the girl's escape. It was bait, forcing her to stand in the path of
this emission of pure violence.
A moment after the elemental went down, her double did as well.
And then—
Not yet! I'm not dying here! I refuse!
In that vortex of destruction, giving up might have been easier. But No
Death clung to life with everything she had. Yet—her mind faded. A
moment ago, she'd felt as if her body was being torn apart—but that pain
was gone. She couldn't tell where she was or which way was up.
Is this what death feels like?
What the fuck?
Those were No Death's thoughts on the matter.
Had she not been about to put her life on the line?
Throw every last bit of strength she had into a battle against a villainous
state's horrific plot, all to protect her homeland?
Cowards.
Sure, that was her selfish take on it. Even as her mind faded out, she
knew the truth of the matter. But what else could she call it?
The death of the elemental was no comfort. That had never been
anything but a pawn to sacrifice. At best, it had been deemed a worthy loss
to take out the Theocracy's finest warrior.
Who was that girl?
If she was from the Nation of Darkness, how much of this was the evil
king's scheme?
This was defeat.
Not because she'd fallen to her enemy's spell. She had not even been
allowed to risk her life, and the humiliation of that could never be
overcome.
Horrid.
She didn't want this.
She didn't want defeat.
She'd never wanted to learn what it was like to lose.
She'd simply wanted to reject her own strength. Or—perhaps her
mother.
The blood in her own veins. What going unloved had given her.
But if that cursed strength let her protect what mattered…
Then perhaps, her mother might relent.
She was finally motivated.
Only for it to crumble.
I just have to hope…the Nation…isn't involved…
And then it all went black.
Ainz and Aura emerged from the elf treasury.
The upshot—he wasn't entirely sure it was a disappointment. There had
been mystery fruits, coconuts larger than Aura was tall, and there was no
way to appraise their value at the moment.
But nothing made of particularly rare metals turned up. The materials
were all things easily found in nature—a tad disappointing, but at least they
could still hope for some unusual effects or previously unseen abilities.
So Ainz wasn't upset. Perhaps the needle even tipped toward pleased.
The haul was already gone.
He'd used a Gate to toss it all near the log house above Nazarick.
This might have come as a shock to whichever member of the Pleiades
was on duty, but since he'd sent Mare out on his own, he didn't want to stop
and explain. He simply barked an order to take care of the items—given the
risk entailed—within the log house for now.
When that was done, he assumed a grave expression—his bony features
never changed—and turned to Aura.
"Well then, Aura, let's do this."
"Yes, Lord Ainz!!"
She sounded enthusiastic and bent down with her back to him.
To be clear, her movement speed was far greater than his own. If she
took off, she'd leave him in the dust. Naturally, since she had to track the elf
king's blood trails, she wouldn't hit her top speed. But even then, Ainz
would likely not keep up. He did have equipment that could improve his
speed, but changing gear meant more than simply swapping that slot for
something else.
Ainz's default loadout was a resistance puzzle, min-maxed to the
extreme limits of his equipment weight capacity. If anything changed that
balance, he'd have to consider the cumulative effects—which took time. He
had little trouble using scrolls or consumables, but this brought out his
finicky side.
And even if he did use it, he wasn't sure he could keep up with Aura.
So his best option—was to have Aura carry him.
Naturally, an adult man riding a little girl around was an extremely—
extremely—uncomfortable visual. Ainz would much rather not. The
emotion wasn't strong enough to be repressed, which meant it stuck like a
thorn in his side.
But Mare's life might depend on this decision.
Certainly, Mare should have no issues defeating the elf king. Ainz was
pretty sure they'd seen the end of what he could do, and he was exhausted
and injured—he had no path to victory. But nothing was ever guaranteed.
He could send a Message asking for an update, but mid-combat, that
could prove distracting. His best option was simply to catch up as soon as
possible.
So Ainz had to swallow his pride. Make this choice not as Satoru Suzuki
but as Ainz Ooal Gown.
That left one concern.
How should she carry him?
Given Aura's strength, she could probably manage the princess carry.
Others might well go for the standard piggyback. Yet, Ainz had chosen to
treat her like a mount—or more accurately, this had been Aura's own
choice.
At first, he'd suggested she heft him onto her shoulder like so much
baggage. That was less inherently mortifying, and the self-deprecating joke
contained within that metaphor amused him.
But Aura insisted she could never treat him like baggage, and attempting
to argue the point seemed like it would take a while.
Ainz himself had ruled out the princess carry—that would simply lead to
emotional resets.
Which left the mount.
His mind made up, he steeled himself and stepped aboard the little girl's
back. He also took a dagger out of his item box. It was not clear if he would
need it, but better safe than sorry.
Floating next to them was an Elemental Skull, called here via Summon
Tenth-Tier Undead.
Some might suggest he bring out some other undead and ride them
instead of Aura. But he hadn't for one simple reason.
Which would be sacrificed first?
Faced with an unexpected threat, his summons would act as a shield,
giving Aura and Ainz time to retreat. For that reason, he could not use an
undead as a mount.
Certainly, he could simply dismount if they encountered an enemy, but
that delay might prove fatal. Ainz knew this was overcautious. But they
were in the middle of a war zone, and the odds of something unexpected
were that much higher—best to consider safety first and be prepared—
using an undead as a shield, for instance.
Elemental Skulls were more about magical DPS than tanking, but he'd
gone with it anyway because tanks weren't always the best choice to cover
a retreat. In Yggdrasil, DPS units trying to tank was not advisable. Only
absolute freaks like Touch Me had ever managed to play both at once and
just proved how inadvisable it was. No one else could copy him. But you
were certainly welcome to try.
Aura took off.
Following the faint traces of blood on the floor, she bounded down the
stairs—and then drew to a halt.
Taking her eyes off the trail, she looked ahead. Ainz followed her gaze
but saw no one.
He considered asking, but if something had gone wrong, best he stand
ready to give the Elemental Skull an order—and wait for Aura's word. And
he had a hunch what this might be.
His hunch proved correct.
"Lord Ainz, message from Mare."
" Ah," he intoned. It was hard to act dignified while seated on her
back, but he could at least maintain a master's tone of voice. "From your
attitude, I surmise Mare is not asking for help. Can I assume he's
successfully captured the elf king?"
"Well…the king has already been killed."
"What?"
Without the primal earth elemental, the elf king would certainly have
been rather weak. But not weak enough to be slain by just anyone from this
world—he should have been able to escape any such threat.
"...There was another powerful figure in play here? Did Mare
engage?"
"Yes and he defeated them, but they're still alive. What should we do?
Mare suggests they might possess valuable intel. They might have been
monitoring the fight between you and Shalltear."
"What? They saw that? Did they have a World Item? Let's catch up with
him and secure this person. Then we'll return to Nazarick. Time's awasting! Aura, sorry about this—it won't be much longer."
The report hadn't used a plural, so evidently there'd only been the one
real threat. Still, it was possible they had a number of weaker fighters
accompanying them. Without knowledge of the specifics, beating a hasty
retreat was the ideal move.
"I'm not put out at all—but let's hurry. Lord Ainz, hold on tight."
The words barely left her mouth and Aura shot off like a bullet. Far
faster than before, didn't even slow on corners—running up the walls
instead. Ainz had never been on a roller coaster, but he imagined it felt like
this. This body felt no fear, yet it was still rather frightening. Perhaps even
scarier with his gaze this low.
When acting as a warrior, he could run at similar speeds, but there was a
big difference between running on your own power and putting yourself at
the mercy of someone else's full-throttle cornering.
In what felt like mere seconds, Mare came within view.
He had an unfamiliar human on his shoulder, his other hand holding his
own staff and a new sinister-looking scythe.
Ainz had a ton of questions. I heard the elf king was slain, but where's
the body? What happened to the magic items he had on him? But they were
on enemy ground. Withdrawing safely was the priority.
Looking grave, he stepped down from Aura's back acting confident, like
riding her had been absolutely necessary and totally normal. Then he stuck
the dagger in the floor.
It was difficult to quickly remember a featureless corridor, but if a
recognizable dagger was left sticking out of it, that would make things
easier. This dagger was long since embedded in his memory, so he could
use it as a spell target.
Ainz opened a Gate.
"Go on in."
Mare stammered in reply and then carried the human on through.
Ainz dismissed the Elemental Skull, and then he and Aura went through
the Gate.
Once through, he found the pile of items from the treasury. To one side,
he found Entoma bowing her head—she must have come out to collect the
pile. And she probably realized the new Gate likely signified Ainz's return.
Some death knights stood awkwardly around them, likely here to help
her.
"Welcome home, Lord Ainz."
"Hmm, keep working on these, Entoma. You have a ring?"
"I do."
"Then loan it to Aura. Aura, this is a valuable source of information. Do
not let it die. Take it swiftly to the Ice Prison. I'm sure Neuronist can handle
it, but make sure all gear is removed."
"L-Lord Ainz, a moment…?"
"What, Mare? You look concerned."
"Y-yes, this human…is really strong. I've used Sandman's Sand on her,
but if something wakes her up, I don't think Neuronist could win."
"…Ah, in that case… Aura, remain close to this woman until I return.
Stay on guard."
Aura slipped on the ring, took the human from Mare, and teleported
away. Ainz turned back to Mare.
"So…why is it you think this human was watching the Shalltear battle?"
That was the question of the hour.
"R-right, this human used both your the Goal of All Life Is Death and
Shalltear's Einherjar. I can't imagine that's unrelated!"
"She what?!"
Ordinarily, nobody had more than one move powerful enough to call an
ace. Having two available boggled his mind. Perhaps Mare's idea was on
the money. Did she have a means of copying skills?
"I'm shocked you left her alive."
"Y-yes, I thought Micro-catastrophe would kill her, but she's got
incredible life force. And luckily didn't die."
"You used Micro-catastrophe on her?! And she survived… That woman
really is powerful. You may have been the lucky one. What about the elf
king?"
Mare described his end, and Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brow. The
king had likely had a magic item capable of thwarting Stop Time, and he'd
like to go collect that but also wanted to learn more about this new human.
He should probably prioritize the item. The human would not easily
escape Nazarick.
Well, I can send Pandora's Actor. He can search the place. Or should I
have him investigate the human? No, better I do that myself. In which
case…
Ainz turned to Entoma.
"Entoma, please wait here. I'm going to call in Pandora's Actor."
As she answered, he activated Message.